Monthly Archives: November 2015

SeaWorld. Just mention the very name around marine activists and you are bound to get an earful about how evil, how heartless, how inhumane they are when it comes to keeping Orcas, dolphins, and other animals in tanks. Ever since the documentary Blackfish came out, people have been maligning the marine park for its so-called cruel practice of captivity. Much of the criticism is warranted. Capturing healthy animals for amusement is wrong for so many different reasons. We get that people are waking up to the reality of animal confinement, and the notion that coercing them to perform for our entertainment needs to stop. However, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Not all aquariums are evil. They really do provide many much needed services both for animals and for humans. Here are examples of when aquariums are a good thing:

Ocean Literacy
Education is the key to making positive change, no matter what the problem. And our oceans are facing all kinds of problems. From acidification to coral bleaching to overfishing, there are a multitude of issues facing the world’s oceans, and marine aquariums are on the forefront of this struggle. With educational animal exhibits, aquariums inspire the public to better understand, cherish and conserve marine and coastal ecosystems.

Marine Conservation
In 2014, a strange and distressing observation was made in the waters off the West Coast of the US. Sea stars were dying in terribly gruesome ways, and nobody really knew why. To gain a better understanding of the problem, researchers from local aquariums donned dry suits and did some field investigation. Sea Star Wasting Syndrome soon became a household term, with websites dedicated to observations and data about the disease, mainly due to the efforts of the aquariums. This is only one example of how these establishments work in the real world solving real world problems.

Animal Rehabilitation
In November of 2015, a tropical masked booby was found in Newport, Oregon, the second of its species ever reported north of Mendocino County, California. With warmer ocean temperatures, this kind of thing seems to be happening with more frequency. And when it does happen, we call on aquariums to help. First the bird had to be quarantined because of avian flu possibilities. When it was determined the bird had a clean bill of health, its rehab could continue unabated. The bird was fattened up on Oregon seafood, nursed back to health, and sent via airmail back to California with an interesting tale to tell its masked booby friends. This is only one rehabilitation story.

Sharing The Magic
This is by far the most visible, most exciting aspect of aquariums—the magic. We all know what I mean. There’s something magical about human-animal interactions, and at aquariums there are all kinds of opportunities for such interactions. There’s something magical about seeing the wonder in a child’s eyes as they touch an anemone for the first time, or see their first shark up close. Children of all ages, from 2 to 92, are delighted by the animal exhibits.

With all good things aquariums do, it’s clear they are needed, provided that they are operated properly. It is the aquariums, after all, that make people aware about our oceans, and only through awareness will they ever want to conserve them.

A while back some industrious inventors saw the exploding popularity of unmanned aerial vehicles and had an idea. They knew that though the skies were becoming populated by drones, the real future for these remotely controlled vehicles isn’t in the air, it’s under the water. Soon Open ROV was born, and underwater exploration will never be the same. Open ROV is more than just an underwater drone. It’s an inexpensive, collaborative project that incorporates the experiences of the users and a community of technicians. It’s a cooperative venture that proves normal, everyday citizens would rather do their own ocean exploration instead of watching others do it on TV. Truly, Open ROV is democratizing exploration.

The Drone
While Open ROV isn’t technically a drone that operates autonomously, people still call it a drone because it functions in many ways drones do. Open ROV offers three different models, the 2.7 Mini Observation Class, the 2.8 Mini Observation Class and the Trident. The greatest aspects of these models are the prices. The 2.7 and 2.8 have famously always been under a thousand dollars, which is reasonable compared to other U/W drones which can get as expensive as $25,000 or more. But just because they are inexpensive doesn’t mean they are cheap. Quite the contrary. They have all the features you would expect a high end drone to have: It streams HD video to a surface laptop over an ultra-thin two-wire tether. It can dive to a depth of 100m (328ft) and the intuitive control system allows for smooth movement. It has an easy to use web browser interface. It offers easy integration of additional components including servos, lights, or any other user-defined devices. People from all over the world are using Open ROV drones in some pretty demanding situations. One user even documented his drone at a stunning depth of 1640 meters. That’s pretty tough.

The Hardware and Software
It’s called Open ROV for a reason. All the software and hardware codes and schematics are openly available to anyone who wants to see them, use them, and modify them. This means that users can adapt their Open ROVs to suit whatever situation they need. One interesting story of user modification comes from New Zealand, where an epidemic of crown of thorns starfish is killing the reef systems. Researchers have successfully altered their Open ROV drone to hunt down and eliminate the voracious predators by injecting them with a biotoxin.

The Community
Open ROV might be innovative and inexpensive, it might change the way we all see the underwater world, but the thing that really makes the project stand out is the actively engaged community of users and engineers who are collaborating to make it the best it can be. One thing about high technology is that it can create isolation with some people. By having an involved group where people can go to ask questions and learn from others, it eliminates that isolation. Plus, by having it all open source and allowing the world to work together on the project, it brings a whole new democratic dimension to ocean exploration.

Let me walk the tightrope that is this subject and let’s see if I can succeed in not sounding like a complete Luddite. GMOs. They are a hot button issue with many. I have written about GMOs in the past, mostly in opposition, and have listed the many reasons why I think laboratory created food is a bad idea. Mostly, I am dubious of the whole unintended consequences thing. Our planet has had billions of years to evolve lifeforms in a certain way, and here we are, in a cosmic blink of an eye, altering the genetic makeups of those organisms. We have no idea how it will all turn out.

Putting aside that argument, I had another issue with GMO in the past, which is necessity. I just feel like, with all the wasted food in the world, that we really don’t need GMO. All we need is a way to get food to the people who need it. However, a new argument has arisen that has changed my mind, at least temporarily, about the planet’s need for GMO, and it has to do with sustainable seafood.

Saving Sharks
Spend any time on the internet at all reading about sharks and you’ll come across some graphic and gory photos and stories about shark finning. It’s a horrible practice and it is depleting the oceans of sharks just so Asians can get their fix of fin soup. Just recently a story surfaced about baby sharks found on a beach in Saipan, finless and dead. These stories are all too ubiquitous, and a San Francisco company, New Wave Foods, wants to do something about it. They are using biotechnology to duplicate the collagen in a shark’s fin, essentially growing an artificial fin. The fake fin is due out next summer (2016).
Shrimp on the Barbie?
Bycatch is another issue on the minds of the good people at New Wave Foods. According to their website, for every one pound of fish caught, 5 pounds of unwanted species are also trapped in nets and discarded. Shrimping is a major culprit of this net bycatch, and New Wave Foods went to work trying to solve the problem. Their solution: artificial shrimp meat. Using the very same algae that shrimp eat, the company has developed a substitute that they say tastes like the real thing. And the texture, which was a little harder to nail down than the taste, is also much the same as the natural equivalent. New Wave Foods expects the artificial shrimp to hit the market a little earlier than their fake shark fin. So by next summer, when you are at that 4th of July barbeque, take a look at the grill. Those shrimp might be franken-shrimp.

From the New Wave Foods website: “Through technology, we are creating seafood that doesn’t have to be harvested from this highly vulnerable ecosystem and that is created entirely in our food laboratories. We get inspired by mother nature and recreate what people have been eating for centuries, in a better and more sustainable way.”

I don’t think there is one person I know who would rather go back to the 1800s in terms of technology. The modern conveniences and contrivances we all have are definitely making lives better. Heck, forget the 1800s. Who wants to go back to the 1990s? No internet. Cell phones were all dumb. And we didn’t have flying cars. OK, we still don’t have flying cars, but jetpacks are becoming a thing, albeit in Dubia of all places. And autonomous cars are right around the corner, so that’s pretty cool. However, technology isn’t always a savior. Sometimes it can present problems.

Some 3-D Printing Materials Are Toxic
3D printing has the potential to become a real game changer in this world. The ability for a person to print out a product right there in the home is nothing short of revolutionary, and can truly put power into the hands of the individual like never before. However, it looks like a double edged sword because despite all of its potential, some of the plastics and other substances used by the most popular 3D printers can be lethal to fish and other animals.

Navy Agrees to Limit Sonar Testing in Pacific Amid Concerns for Whales
It’s been a widely held axiom among scientists for many years that sonar testing and use has had detrimental effects on seagoing mammals like whales and dolphins. The real news in this story is that the Navy has finally not only acknowledged the issue, they have also agreed to actively curtail their testing as a result. This is big, Whales and other marine mammals use subsonic sound to communicate, sometimes over vast distances. This communication is essential for the animals to meet up with mates, find safe breeding grounds, and navigate the ocean depths.

Scientists Warn of Microfiber Pollution in Oceans
Your favorite coat might be killing fish in the ocean. Sounds farfetched, but in this day and age, we have all learned that everything is connected. It’s the butterfly effect. A cause here has an effect over there. In this case, the cause is people laundering their microfiber jackets in the washing machine and then letting all those little fibers drain into the wastewater. The thing is, that water has to go somewhere, and eventually all water finds its way back to the ocean.
Naval Academy reinstates celestial navigation
This is a case of technology putting technology at risk. For more than a century, naval midshipmen studied how to navigate by using the stars. But because of satellites and other forms of modern tech, the US Navy went away from celestial navigation in 1996. The problem is that computer aided navigation is vulnerable to hackers and other malicious attacks. The Navy needed a backup plan, so they went with a tried and true practice, one that has been around as long as sailors braved the high seas. Sextants will probably never come back into full use, but it’s good to know that traditions never fade.

We’ve all heard and probably seen examples of sea birds catching and eating fish. Around here it’s the mighty Bald Eagle, who dines regularly on the fish that run the Columbia River. Blue Heron, King Fishers, and Cormorants are just three examples of birds who consistently use fish as a staple of their diets. With all those fish being eaten by all those birds, you would think that the winged ones have a monopoly on the whole who gets eaten by who game. Well, think again. It just so happens that out in that great kingdom we call the wild there are fish who have turned the tables on their bird overlords. Yes, fish that fish for birds.

Alaska Cod
Four years ago fish factories in Alaska discovered Something strange in the cod: seabird feet, heads, wings, bones and feathers. Though science has identified this as happening before, this appears to be the first documentation of Pacific eating birds. Precisely how they do it is unclear. After some testing of lung tissue of birds removed from the cods’ stomach, researchers determined that some were taken alive while the others had already drowned when they were consumed. So we have cod that can stalk, sneak up on, and catch live birds. That’s both interesting and scary.

Monkfish

deepseanews.com

A member of the angler fish family, the monkfish is one of the ugliest looking fish in the sea. Just look at one. It’s a face only a mother could love. While the monkfish is usually a bottom dweller, there have been instances when seabirds were found it the fish’s stomachs. What’s worse is that these monstrously unattractive monsters pick on some of the smallest and cutest birds out there: the Dovekie. Mean old fish!

Catfish

Maybe there’s something more to this fish’s name than just its looks. It turns out catfish have a lot more in common with their feline namesakes. Adaptive behavior has been spotted and even videotaped in which catfish are learning how to eat waterfowl. Actually, in this example, the food of choice is pigeons. In France, the catfish have been observed beaching themselves for a chance to get at the succulent little feathered ones. It’s risky business, and it hasn’t been observed in any other locations, suggesting it was learned behavior.

Tigerfish

If a catfish can catch a bird, then surely a tigerfish can, right? Right! And they not only catch birds, they do it in dramatic fashion. Watch the embedded video. Now watch it again, because you’ll have to in order to actually see what’s happening. Apparently tigerfish have been documented engaging in this bird catching activity since the 1940s. This video might be the first time it’s been documented, though. Good thing for the footage because without it, the world might not believe just how quick the tigerfish can be. At first, you might be tempted to think that this fish on bird predator-prey relationship is rare, but researchers said while they were observing tigerfish in Africa, they documented about 20 instances a day.

Search the net and you’ll find all kinds of helpful and informative articles on the best places on earth to SCUBA. Blue Holes and cenotes. Coral Reefs and abundant sea life. There are places on this planet that have it all, and are popular dives spots as a consequence. But what about the parts of the world that are less than hospitable, where the temperatures or the chemical compositions are so toxic that even coming near the place can be deadly? It seems antithetical to the sport of diving to even discuss these hostile places, but a little knowledge can go a long way. At the very least, you can consider yourself warned.

Russia’s Lake Karachay

www.viralnova.com

Did you know there’s a place in Russia that is even more radioactive than Chernobyl? How about two and a half times more radioactive? It sounds too outlandish to be true, but Lake Karachay in western Russia near the border of Kazakhstan is literally a hell on earth. For years the government of Russia has dumped nearly 120 million curies of radioactive waste into the lake, making it quite possibly the deadliest place on the globe. It is estimated that simply sitting on the lakeshore for an hour will kill you, so forget about a diving excursion.
The poison Blue Lagoon

www.dailymail.co.uk

In the UK, there’s a former limestone quarry with water that looks like a crystal clear blue lagoon somewhere in the tropics. However, don’t mistake this place for paradise because the water is as toxic as bleach and can cause some major skin irritations. Despite the warning signs posted all around the lake, and despite the copious garbage and dead animals, people still insist on swimming there as if it was a public pool. To combat the obvious public health problem, the local government has stained the lake black.

Yellowstone’s Hot Springs

www.britannica.com

Some hot springs are perfectly good for SCUBA. They keep the water a nice and comfortable temperature year round so divers can enjoy their sport in the northern latitudes, even in the dead of winter. However, some hot springs are so deadly you would never want to dive in them. Yellowstone is full of these lethal springs. While beautiful with their bounty of colors, the springs hover near the boiling point and are acidic enough to liquefy nails. Though they might seem lifeless, some microbes thrive in these toxic pools, which give them their vivid colors.
Lake Natron

www.huffingtonpost.com

There’s a lake in Africa that is so deadly and bizarre it should be called Lake Medusa instead. That’s because any animal that has the misfortune to drink from its waters is horrifically turned to stone. Pictures of these unfortunate birds and bats and other creatures who have succumbed to the lake’s high alkalinity are horrifying to behold. Birds frozen in time, burned from the inside out by the lake’s causticity. If an animal can be entombed forever in its own mummified corpse, imagine what that place will do to your SCUBA gear!

Exploding Killer Lakes
A giant cloud of carbon dioxide bubbled up from Lake Nyos in northwestern Cameroon near the border of Nigeria on August 21, 1986, flowing into the valley below. It stripped the air of oxygen, suffocating 1,746 villagers and 3,000 animals to death.

Look around and you’ll find all kinds of waders made by all kinds of wader companies. Boot foot. Breathables. Bag style. Chest or hip. The choices are as extensive as your imagination. And, just as there are countless wader brands, there are also countless claims of durability and function. Wader X will last you years of use. Wader Y will be the most comfortable you will ever wear. While you can never be trustful of marketing gimmicks, you can be a savvy shopper and do your due diligence when it comes to making your wader purchase. We at USIA feel our waders stand above the rest. Here’s why:

Made In The USA
This might not be an important detail for some, but for most American outdoor sportsmen, this is a make or breaker. People who care know that buying a product made in the USA helps our country in so many ways. American jobs are created, good paying jobs that allow people to raise families. The money spent in America stays in America, circulating the money supply for more domestic investing. You may not think of this benefit, but keeping things local reduces the shipping, thereby reducing the amount of fossil fuels burned in the process. We all love conservation, don’t we?

Workmanship
The people that build your USIA Waders are professionals who embrace a certain amount of pride in their skills. They aren’t just employees working for a paycheck. We are all outdoor enthusiasts, all focused on the success of our company, and all invested in the quality of our Waders. Most people in the USIA family have been with us for many years, and plan to be with us for many more. When you have that sort of pride in your work, you tend to put out a superior product.

Customization
Most waders you find online or in the sporting goods store are as is. You get what you see. Stock sizes and stock accessories. Maybe you didn’t want the D-rings, or you wanted plastic ones instead of aluminum. Maybe you didn’t want the company logo. Maybe you wanted a shotgun shell holder or a more waterproof pocket. With as is waders, you have no or limited choices. With USIA Waders, you have literally hundreds of possible combinations of color, footwear options, pockets, and other accessories to choose from. The only limits are your imagination.

We Repair
Got a call from a prospective Waders customer the other day. Said he had been looking high and low for a pair of waders that would last him more than one season. He was a little distressed about how his neoprene waders have been developing holes and his DIY repairs have been adequate but he knew he needed a more permanent solution. I was straight with him. Even the most bomb-proof waders will develop leaks over time. Ours is no exception. But our repair services are second to none, and when he found out how inexpensive it is to repair our Waders, he was sold. While we don’t like to see our Waders in for repairs, the reality is that stuff happens. Because of that, we offer full repair services for very reasonable prices.

It seems like every time you turn around, technology advances another ten steps. Moore’s law and all. Phones are now mini computers with the power of a Cray. Cars can’t fly, but are about to drive themselves. And don’t get me started on genetically modified food. Yes, technology is advancing at oftentimes an alarming rate, and that goes for SCUBA tech as well. Modern technological advances have come to the diving industry just like it’s come to just about every other. And sometimes it’s hard to keep up. Here are a few new products we like to call the latest and greatest.

Smart Console by Aqwary
You’ve seen where automobiles are now featuring their own wifi, meaning they are basically rolling internet access centers. Well, Aqwary has developed a device that mimics that wifi capability, only it does so underwater. By creating its own wifi network, the Smart Console (which replaces your old console) can connect with other divers up to 100 meters away. Share critical information like your air supply, depth, ascent rate and more. This device could be the difference between life or death for a distressed diver.

X2 Underwater Jet Pack
Talk about the cool factor. We divers already know that entering the subaquatic world is akin to flying. Now, with these incredible arm mounted jet packs, diving will become like becoming Iron Man. Using scooters can be a liberating experience as a diver. These bad boys take the game to a whole new level. Using advanced digital motors, high-performance marine thrusters, and a wireless control system, the X2 promises to be a game changer.

ScubaCraft
This boat is made for scuba divers. Imagine motoring to your favorite dive site in this thing! To operate it, you have to have your dive gear on. When submerged you can drive the vehicle underwater, which will allow you to see more, use less air, and in general have a great time. Not sure how you will equalize, but hey, you will look really cool. ScubaCraft can descend down to 98 feet and has a top speed of 50 mph on the surface.

Omega Aquatics Amphibian Flipfins
From the ‘Why didn’t I think of this?” file. These Aquatics Amphibian Flipfins from Omega let divers trek and tread wherever they need to go without removing their fins. If you have ever hiked any distance before diving, then you know how limiting wearing fins on land can be. Limiting and annoying. These folding Scuba Fins are deceptively simple to operate. In order to switch to a walking position, all you have to do is press the opposite heel to release the integrated latching mechanism on the fin’s toe. Upon entering the water, you keep the fins up. then the water resistance automatically latches the fins into the correct position after the first few kicks. This renders them essentially hands-free. Omega Aquatics Amphibian Flipfins also feature superior traction on the sole for uneven and slippery surfaces.